Mr. Kerry (for himself,
Mr. Lugar, and Mr. Udall of Colorado) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the
Judiciary

A BILL

To establish an employment-based immigrant
visa for alien entrepreneurs who have received significant capital from
investors to establish a business in the United States.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
StartUp Visa Act of
2011.

2.

StartUp Visas

(a)

In general

Section 203(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 203(b)) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph
(7); and

(2)

by inserting after paragraph (5) the
following:

(6)

Sponsored entrepreneurs

(A)

In general

StartUp visas shall be made available, from
the number of visas allocated under paragraph (5), to qualified immigrant
entrepreneurs—

(i)(I)

who have proven that a qualified venture
capitalist, a qualified super angel investor, or a qualified government entity,
as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, has invested not less than
$100,000 on behalf of each such entrepreneur; and

(II)

whose commercial activities will, during
the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the visa is issued under this
subparagraph—

(aa)

create not fewer than 5 new full-time jobs
in the United States employing people other than the immigrant’s spouse, sons,
or daughters;

(bb)

raise not less than $500,000 in capital
investment in furtherance of a commercial entity based in the United States;
or

(cc)

generate not less than $500,000 in
revenue;

(ii)(I)

who—

(aa)

hold an unexpired H1–B visa; or

(bb)

have completed a graduate level degree in
science, technology, engineering, math, computer science, or other relevant
academic discipline from an accredited United States college, university, or
other institution of higher education;

(II)

who demonstrate—

(aa)

annual income of not less than 250 percent
of the Federal poverty level; or

(bb)

the possession of assets equivalent to not
less than 2 years of income at 250 percent of the Federal poverty level;
and

(III)

who have proven that a qualified venture
capitalist, a qualified super angel investor, or a qualified government entity,
as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, has invested not less than
$20,000 on behalf of each such entrepreneur; or

(iii)

who have a
controlling interest in a foreign company—

(I)

that has
generated, during the most recent 12-month period, not less than $100,000 in
revenue from sales in the United States; and

(II)

whose commercial
activities, during the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the visa is
issued under this subparagraph, will—

(aa)

create not fewer
than 3 new full-time jobs in the United States that employ people other than
the immigrant's spouse, sons, or daughters;

(bb)

raise not less
than $100,000 in capital investment in furtherance of a commercial entity based
in the United States; or

(cc)

generate not
less than $100,000 in revenue.

(B)

Revocation

If the Secretary
of Homeland Security determines that the commercial activities of an alien who
received a StartUp visa pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)(II) fail to meet the
requirements under such subparagraph, the Secretary shall, not later than 1
year after the end of the applicable 2-year period described in such
subparagraph—

(i)

revoke such visa;
and

(ii)

notify the alien
that he or she—

(I)

may voluntarily
depart from the United States in accordance to section 240B; or

(II)

will be subject
to removal proceedings under section 240 if the alien does not depart from the
United States not later than 6 months after receiving such notification.

(C)

Definitions

In this paragraph:

(i)

Qualified super angel
investor

The term
qualified super angel investor means an individual who—

(I)

is an accredited investor (as defined in
section 230.501(a) of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations);

(II)

is a United States citizen; and

(III)

has made at least 2 equity investments of
not less than $50,000 in each of the previous 3 years.

(ii)

Qualified venture capitalist

The term qualified venture
capitalist means an entity that—

(I)

is classified as a venture capital
operating company under section 2510.3–101(d) of title 29, Code of
Federal Regulations;

(II)

is based in the United States;

(III)

is comprised of partners, the majority of
whom are United States citizens;

(IV)

has capital commitments of not less than
$10,000,000;

(V)

has been operating for at least 2 years;
and

(VI)

has made at least 2 investments of not less
than $500,000 during each of the most recent 2
years.

.

(b)

Conditional permanent resident
status

Section 216A of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended—

(1)

by striking Attorney General
each place such term appears and inserting Secretary of Homeland
Security;

(2)

in subsection (a)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)—

(i)

by striking (as defined in
subsection (f)(1)) and inserting , sponsored
entrepreneur; and

(ii)

by striking (as defined in
subsection (f)(2)) shall and inserting shall each;
and

(B)

in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting
sponsored entrepreneur, after alien
entrepreneur,;

(3)

in subsection (b), by adding at the end the
following:

(3)

Sponsored entrepreneurs

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
terminate the permanent resident status of a sponsored entrepreneur and the
alien spouse and children of such entrepreneur if the Secretary determines, not
later than 3 years after the date on which such permanent resident status was
conferred, that—

(A)

the qualified venture capitalist or
qualified super angel investor who sponsored the entrepreneur failed to meet
the investment requirements under section 203(b)(6)(A)(i); or

in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),
by inserting sponsored entrepreneur, after alien
entrepreneur,; and

(ii)

by striking alien entrepreneur
must each place such term appears and inserting entrepreneur
shall; and

(B)

in paragraph (3)—

(i)

in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting
or sponsored entrepreneur after alien
entrepreneur; and

(ii)

in subparagraph (C), by inserting
sponsored entrepreneur, after alien
entrepreneur;

(5)

in subsection (d)(1)—

(A)

in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),
by striking alien and inserting alien entrepreneur or
sponsored entrepreneur, as applicable;

(B)

in clause (i), by striking invested,
or is actively in the process of investing, and inserting has
invested, is actively in the process of investing, or has been sponsored by a
qualified super angel investor or qualified venture capitalist who has
invested,; and

(C)

in clause (ii), by inserting or
203(b)(6), as applicable before the period at the end; and

(6)

in subsection (f), by adding at the end the
following:

(4)

The term sponsored
entrepreneur means an alien who obtains the status of an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence under section
203(b)(6).

.

3.

Government
Accountability Office study

(a)

In
general

Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to
Congress on the StartUp Visa Program, authorized under section 203(b)(6) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2.

(b)

Contents

The
report described in subsection (a) shall include information regarding—

(1)

the number of
immigrant entrepreneurs who have received a visa under the immigrant
entrepreneurs program established under section 203(b)(6) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, listed by country of origin;

(2)

the localities in
which such immigrant entrepreneurs have initially settled;

(3)

whether such
immigrant entrepreneurs generally remain in the localities in which they
initially settle;

(4)

the types of
commercial enterprises that such immigrant entrepreneurs have established;
and